Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 1, 1995 TAG: 9502010086
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWIGHT FOXX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
There were nine senior starters in the Alleghany-Salem basketball game Tuesday night at Salem High School, but it was the lone freshman who stole the show.
Herschel Thomas scored a game- and career-high 23 points and keyed a 10-0 third-quarter run with three of his team-leading five steals as the Spartans defeated Alleghany 76-61 in the Blue Ridge District.
Thomas, a shooting guard, dazzled the crowd in the third period with an assortment of controlled layups over taller Alleghany defenders James ``Woo'' Hughes and Rashad Worth.
Alleghany (8-6 overall, 1-4 Blue Ridge District) overcame the 5-foot-8 freshman's dazzling play early in the second half and took a 41-40 lead with 4 minutes, 49 seconds left in the third period.
But Thomas came right back and led the Spartans on a 10-0 run with three steals and a three-point play as Salem took a 50-41 lead with less than three minutes remaining in the period.
``This is his fourth start,'' said Charlie Morgan, Salem's coach. ``I don't consider him a freshman now. He's been working hard to get in the ballgame so he can show what he can do. He's added another dimension to our ballclub.''
Three-point shooting to be exact. Thomas drilled four of the Spartans' eight 3-pointers. He personally kept Salem ahead in the first half with 13 points, including three 3-pointers, and six rebounds to best Alleghany's Hughes, who had 13 points and one rebound at the break.
``I'm just taking my time and letting the game come to me,'' Thomas said. ``When you have guys like Bryan Monroe, Chad Pendleton, Kevin Garst and Matt Woolwine around you, it's easy for them [opponents] to forget you.''
Pendleton scored 14 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter as the Spartans kept the Mountaineers at bay. Each team shot 52 percent - Salem (27-for-52) and Alleghany (25-for-48) - from the field.
Morgan couldn't help but smile when told his team's field-goal percentage. He said Salem's offense has improved since December and he has to credit some of that to a particular freshman.
``Guys are getting more confident in themselves and their teammates,'' Morgan said. ``That freshman might have made a little contribution to that. He does things, on instinct, that you can't teach.''
Salem (8-6, 4-1) won despite a subpar performance from Woolwine. The Spartans' center and Worth each was assessed a technical foul for rough play three minutes into the contest.
The senior center never got on track, didn't score his first points until 1:28 remained in the third period and finished with four points. In the locker room after the game, Woolwine acknowledged the great play of Thomas.
``There's the man,'' Woolwine said, pointing at his freshman teammate. ``We have other guys who can score. Anybody who steps up as a freshman has to have a lot of confidence. I thought he did a great job.''
Carl Watson, Alleghany's coach, didn't like his team's defensive rotation on some of Thomas' 3-point shots.
``I don't care what grade you're in, if you get left wide-open, you can hit an open shot,'' Watson said.
by CNB